Author's Note: Sorry about all of the errors in the last chapter. I will try and triple check my work from now on. Thanks for your support!

Kryhs

Chapter Three: Imaginary

"Wait! Why didn't you take me?" Sarah cried out to Jareth. The sound of the wind answered her question, "Aren't I part of the band? Jareth I'm talking to you, damn it!" She hollered and kicked the dirt. Her temper still flaring, Sarah made her way down towards the Labyrinth. She paused while she could still see the whole of the leviathan of a maze. Everything looked the same, and yet so different. Her memories played through her head like a movie, and now she was paying more attention to the detail of it all. She shook her head and continued down the hillside, this was no time for admiring the scenery.

Sarah reached the bottom of the hill and broke into a jog. Save your strength, Sarah, this is going to seem longer than last time. Technically it would be longer than last time if 'His Majesty' played fair. She remembered how he had fast forwarded time in the oubliette and frowned. What a prick. Going about things as if it were no consequence to him; doing as he pleases without a seconds thought towards anyone else. And he calls himself a king. Some king indeed, I bet he doesn't even care what happens to his subjects, she thought bitterly, Oh for crying out loud! What to I care, I'm going to beat him and get my friends back, just like last time, and then we're going home to finish the tour. But, something close to doubt kept tugging at the back of Sarah's mind and she faltered for a moment.

"No, you can't give up already! It hasn't even been ten minutes yet!" she yelled at herself angrily. She walked along the outer edge of the Labyrinth until she came upon the door, unguarded and opened wide. He was taunting her; telling her that even if he left the door wide open, she would never make it to the end. What did he have planned for her? Why was he so bent of tormenting her? Why wait seven years? Why not sooner? All these questions she saved for the next time they met. And, Sarah knew they would meet again, because the Goblin King enjoyed antagonizing his prey.

She hesitantly walked through the door and her thoughts turned to her friends from her last visit here. Maybe it wasn't Hoggle's job to constantly spray fairies away from the plants in front of the Labyrinth, but that still didn't keep her from worrying about the fact that he wasn't there. And Sir Didymus and Ludo, what had become of them? The heavy doors closed with a bang behind her and she jumped from the thunderous sound. She chanced another step into the winding maze and saw that it was nothing like the maze she had encountered seven years ago. This maze was much darker; the walls held a grayish purple pallor to them and vines thick with cobwebs grew over them, like algae would on a stone in a pond. The chalky ground also had that gray purple color and weeds grew up along the roots of the vines. This place had gone to hell. Sarah walked a few steps along the inner wall and peered as far as the pathway would allow. She took another chance and walked down the path to her left, she always felt much safer with the left side of everything, it was a sort of placate to her. Sarah continued down the dusty walkway until she reached the first opening into the maze that she saw.

Turning inside she let blind luck guide her as far as it would. How else was she supposed to find them? It wasn't like last time when she knew where she was going. But then Jareth had told her that Toby would be in the castle beyond the Goblin City; given her a general direction. Now all she had to work with was that each one of her friends would be hidden within the maze. At least she wouldn't have to approach that God forsaken castle again: that place that held so many haunting memories for Sarah. Not that the maze itself was much of an improvement, but if she could stay as far away from Jareth for as long as possible she wasn't complaining. Now she needed to stay on task. She knew she would lose track of time here. Even if you could tell time by the sun, it didn't work that way here. The hours were different, that was what threw everyone; except for his royal pain in the ass and his subjects, of course.

After what she guessed was an hour of searching, Sarah made another random turn and saw, much to her delight or dismay, she wasn't sure yet, a heap of black cloth. She carefully approached the huddled mass, watching it ever so cautiously. The closer she got, the more she could see that it was a person laying in a fetal position under a cloak. She froze. Could it be him? Why so soon? She waited a few moments and decided that if it was Jareth he would have sprung out at her by now. Reaching out to the mound, she worried that it would be a goblin and gently shook it. A gasp was heard underneath the dark substance of the cloak, and Sarah sighed in relief. It was Alex, or at least she thought it was Alex. She pulled the cloak off his jumbled form and her jaw dropped. He looked broken: as if he had been cracked open like a porcelain jug. The color from his face was drained and his skin thin as paper. She kneeled down and gathered his face in her hands, shushing his panicky form the whole time. Finally, Alex saw that it was Sarah and not some unknown terror and threw himself into her arms with a cry of reprieve. She held him to her body for a moment then turned his face to look at her.

"It's alright now, Alex. I found you. You're safe now, those are the rules." She smoothed his hair back to see his face blotchy and covered in dirt. By his appearance you would think he hadn't bathed in weeks or eaten in days. Sarah growled inwardly and fixed a scowl upon her lips. She opened her mouth to continue but stopped when she saw him disappear before her very eyes. The cloak that was draped about him went lax in her arms. Sarah tore through the cloth looking for any trace that he was there. Her hand grazed something smooth and cool and she stopped. She grasped the object in her hand and pulled it up to her face. A crystal. Sarah's face contorted into a frown and tears of frustration began threatening her eyes. It was a trick, something to provoke her, and it had worked.

"Come, come Sarah. What's all this blubbering nonsense about?" scoffed a voice from behind her. She sat there for a moment as still and quiet as death, she was in shock. Why? Why was he doing this to her? Not that she didn't want to save her friends, but was all this really necessary? He was quiet for a while, allowing Sarah time to think and regain her composure. Alex had looked so lost, so wrecked, like nothing she had ever seen before. How could this have happened in so little time? What had he done to Alex to make him look like that? Why hadn't he taken her along with the others? Jareth moved to stand directly behind Sarah as she sat there holding the crystal in her lap. Sarah began thinking this was a dream. Like many other dreams, no, nightmares she had about Jareth returning and tossing her in the Labyrinth for his amusement, she was sure this had to be one of them. But, then…her falling in the room had hurt. And the smell of sodden, rotting wood was so strong, as well as the heat she felt from the sun shining over head. This wasn't one of her nightmares. The Goblin King had returned, and was waging a private war against her at the expense of her friends.

"I'm not dreaming am I?" she asked quietly. She could almost see the arrogant smirk melt away from his lips to be replaced by a tight line. Jareth, again, was quiet, but his stature was much more serious and not degrading.

"No, you're not."

"So Alex, he's…" she drew a shuddering breath, "he really is that frightened?"

"Yes."

"And the others?" she asked turning her head slightly to look behind her at Jareth's legs. He kicked at a rock then went back to standing still.

"No, just him. The others were placed unconscious when I came for them." She closed her eyes and nodded her head slowly. Quicker than the king had anticipated, Sarah jumped up and spun around to face him, her eyes wide with fury. Dropping the crystal, she raised her hand and balled her fist, determined to knock the living daylights out of the man that stood before her. Her fist came down and Jareth caught it roughly in his gloved hand. His eyes were cold as she stared into them, her glare never faltering.

"Why so soon?" she snapped, "Are you trying to give me false hope?"

"Do not assume that I planned this, my dear. I specifically told you that they would be hidden throughout the Labyrinth. You just had the sheer luck to find one of them within the first hour."

"So, you didn't plan this. But why put him in a crystal? We agreed that…"

"Our agreement," he began effectively cutting her off. His gloved grip on her hand tightening, "was that I would keep you and those you did not find when you fail."

"If I fail!" she shot back.

Jareth ignored her and continued, "You, however, did fail to specify as to which condition they should be returned!" he said with a menacing smile. Sarah's jaw fell open at his words. Disbelief flooded her eyes as she narrowed them in enmity at her foe. She began struggling to pull her hand from his grasp.

"Bastard!" she cried beating his chest with her other fist, "You're sick! I can't believe you enjoy doing this!" Jareth snatched up her other hand and held it high above her head.

"Your friends are fine!" he jeered, "The crystals will follow you on your journey through the maze and when you fail, because believe me Sarah I refuse to let you throw my kingdom into uncertainty of its ruler once again, the crystals will take your friends back to the Above World, and they will continue their happy lives as if you, or any one you fail to free, never existed."

"How are they going to do that? We're a band and we can't exactly split up in the middle of a tour!"

"Actually, you can. Arguments can lead to many bad effects, Sarah. Their memory of you will be that you had a row with your friends and ultimately quit. The stress of life in constant motion was too much for you." He struggled with her as she squirmed for freedom; attempting to hold her still and force her to listen.

"So, my friends will be fine?" she said stilling her movements in sudden realization.

"Of course," he said letting her hands go, "I'm really not as horrible as you make me out to be, Sarah." His eyes flashed but before Sarah could determine what it was, it was gone, "But I can be, if you want me to." His eyes were enchanting as he stared at her. She was quiet for a moment: Her eyes calculating and her expression illegible. Suddenly her eyes lit up and she shoved her way past the king and took off down another passage way in the winding maze. Jareth watched her as she dashed away, barely stroking her hair as she ran past him. He stared after the young woman as she turned a corner and was out of sight, a hint of regret in his cold mismatched eyes. His gaze turned to the crystal that lay discarded amongst the piles of clothing on the ground, and with a gesture of his hand it began rolling off in the direction young Sarah had run.

-x-X-x-X-x-

Time was running out and here she was having a conversation with her enemy. She cursed herself when she realized she had left the crystal behind. She turned back around to go retrieve it when she saw it progressing along the cobblestone towards her. She tilted her head to look at it as it rolled to a stop at her feet. She took a large step backwards and watched as the delicate crystal advanced on her. He did say it would follow her through the Labyrinth. She turned and ran along the passage, praying that the little crystal wouldn't get lost. Her thoughts turned towards the others as she barreled through the twisting pathways, and she hoped that they remained where Jareth had placed them. She knew what a dangerous place this could be, but she wasn't certain if they understood that. Sarah turned one more corner and ran down the passage until she noticed the vines on the wall were turning green. She looked ahead and saw that the end of the passage was covered in vegetation.

"The hedge maze!" she cried gladly. She began to move forward then stopped. What if she missed someone back in the first level of the Labyrinth? She stayed a moment then took off running towards the hedge maze again, the crystal rolling at her heels. Unfortunately, she didn't have the time to go back and look; she might not ever find her way back to the hedge maze and God knows how lost she would get in the process. She just hoped Jareth had hid them each in ascending order. That was when she realized, he was luring her to the castle. Each time she finds someone, the closer she would be to him. He was baiting her. That's why he didn't take her along with the others. His goal wasn't to keep them in the first place, just as it had been with Toby. Though he didn't want to let Toby go, she was his objective; just as she was now. She had been the only one to defy him, to reject him, to detest him instead of accepting his offerings. And in the normal world what does one do when they are denied something? Try for it even harder than before.

She stopped just before the entrance of the next part of the maze and stared around the horizon for the castle of the Goblin King. There, the one place she wanted to avoid the most was the place she had to go in order to free herself and her friends. But she wasn't sure if she could do it alone. She snapped herself awake from her thoughts and loathing of Jareth and marched into the second part of the Labyrinth.

-x-X-x-X-x-

Jareth sat on the edge of a window. His white shirt open at the chest, the crescent shaped medallion gleaming against his skin, gray leggings clinging to every muscle and tucked into tall black, suede boots. The lace of his sleeve spilled over his wrists partially covering his gloved hands as he played with his crystal donned riding flog, smacking it wistfully against his thigh as he stared into the crystal he held in his hand. One of his legs hung lazily out the window and the other was drawn up under his chin. His eyes were glazed and distant, like those of a child watching a Saturday morning cartoon. He blinked as the young woman in the precious stone turned and looked straight at him. She must be looking at the castle, he thought dryly, only she would waste time like that. After a moments hesitation she turned and entered the emerald network of hedges.

"Good girl," he said standing up and heading towards the door of the chamber he was in. Still watching the crystal fervently, he left the room and continued down a hallway until he reached a set of descending stairs. Taking them two at a time he reached the bottom and walked briskly to the third door on his right. He threw the door open without a moments pause and made his way to a pallet on the floor in long strides. Kicking the mound that lay there on the straw he spoke.

"Get up." He said darkly crushing the crystal in his hand, "We have work to do."

-x-X-x-X-x-

Sarah plopped down next to a wall littered with hundreds of tiny white flowers. The blooms were star shaped and had five antennae like growths with small powdery orbs on the ends protruding from the center. Breathing in heavy, ragged breaths Sarah took in her surroundings. She was there in a small clearing, in the hedge mazes, and there were hedges. That's all she knew. Groaning with weariness, she laid her head against the wall of the brush and closed her eyes, suddenly feeling more tired than she had when she sat down. She was so tired from all that running. If she could take a small nap, maybe she would be refreshed and make it through the maze faster than before. Yeah, that's it. She'd take a nap and then she'd be ready to continue.

She closed her eyes and prepared herself for a light rest when she felt someone shaking her awake. Her eyelids opened to slits and her eyes slowly rolled around in her head. She closed them again only to be roughly shaken awake.

"You cannot rest here, sira! You will not wake up again, sira!" cried a small female voice. Sarah opened her eyes slightly and mumbled something unintelligible. She felt hands grip her under her arms and lift her then the sensation of being dragged away from the wall and suddenly the sleep that clouded her mind lifted. Whoever dragged her away from the wall laid her on the ground on the opposite side of the clearing. She was still tired, yes, but the need for rest was less substantial than before. She shook her head and looked around for whoever woke her up.

Standing there in front of her was a cat or something like a cat and a cross between a human child. It was small, about the size of an eight year old. Its eyes were big and the irises a bright shade of green. Its coat was short and a different shades of green to match the vegetation surrounding it. Its hands and feet were padded from the palms to the finger tips. Sarah stared at the strange creature in front of her, she had never encountered something like this in the Labyrinth before, but then again she didn't stay in one place long enough to find out.

"You are safe from the go-to-sleep-never-wake-up blossom, sira!" it cried showing off its fanged teeth.

"Who are you?" Sarah asked blinking the haze from her eyes. The creature cocked its head to one side as if confused that it wasn't thanked.

"Latys is Latys, sira! And Latys saved your life, sira!"

"Your name is Latys?"

"Yes, Latys is Latys' name, sira!" the creature's facial appearance grew cross when Sarah hadn't thanked it, again.

"Thank you, Latys. For saving my life," she said quickly. If she befriended this creature, maybe it would lead her to whoever was hidden here.

Latys beamed proudly, "You did not know, sira! Not know that the flower would make you sleep-sleep and not get up again, did you sira?" Sarah shook her head and looked at the small blossoms across the clearing. If she had stayed there, like Latys said, she wouldn't have gotten up, and Jareth would have won, "What's a matter, sira?"

Sarah looked up and saw that Latys was too close for comfort, "Nothing I was just thinking about what would happen if you hadn't pulled me away from there."

"Oh, bad, bad things happen to you if you stay there, sira. One lay down and after ten minutes he is lost to all around him, sira. If Latys had not found you, you would not be awake, sira!" Sarah shivered at the thought, as Latys explained that the powder on the end of the bulbs was like a poison that shut down all your internal organs one by one. Sarah thanked the small cat again and stood up looking around more lost than before. There were five different pathways not including the one she had just come from. Latys watched as she looked at each of the different pathways.

"You looking for something, sira?" asked the cat softly. Sarah smiled inwardly. Bingo.

"Yes, I've lost my friends and I'm looking for them. I think one of them is hidden in here, do you know where he might be?"

Latys' ears flopped down against her head and her eyes grew wide with fear.

"You are her, sira! The one which his highness wishes to confuse, sira!" she glowered at the mention of Jareth, "Oh, King Jareth is a bad man, sira! He is mean to all of Latys kind, sira! Latys help you find your friends, sira! Latys not like that King Jareth wish to hurt nice lady…What is sira's name, sira?" Sarah smiled at the creature's flustered appearance.

"Sarah."

"Uh-huh, Sarah, King Jareth not makes you sad, not while Latys can help you, sira! Follow, Latys, she know where funny smelling man lay in the grass!" Sarah laughed and trotted along behind Latys as she took off down a path and deeper into the hedge maze.

-x-X-x-X-x-

Half an hour later, Sarah and Latys were walking along the pathways, looking for an exit from the hedge mazes. They found another huddled mass of clothing, it was Sean. He, like Alex, looked as if he had been kept in solitary confinement for weeks. And, now the little creature and the young woman walked slowly along the maze, two crystals trailing behind, and fatigue gripping Sarah by the throat. Latys bounded ahead and scaled a leafy wall saying that she would find a way out and Sarah dropped to the floor beside it. She smacked her lips and ran her tongue along them in an attempt to moisten them and still her hunger. Just as the thought of asking Latys for food popped into her head, Sarah saw a berry bush just across the path. Sarah was weary of the fruit at first, but then decided that it was fine if she had a few. It's not like she was handed them this time. She crawled over to the low bush and plucked a few berries from its branches. Just as Sarah popped them into her mouth, Latys climbed back down the wall and began talking quickly.

"I see the end of it, sira! It's just over…Sarah, sira?" Latys looked warily at Sarah.

"What's wrong Latys?" Sarah looked down at her hands. What she saw made a scream rip forth from her mouth before she could stop it.

"Stay here, sira! Latys find help, be back as quick as she can, sira!" and Latys tore down one pathway to another calling for something the whole way.

Sarah's skin was turning the color of onyx and her sight was fading as quickly as the color of her skin was. She stumbled against the wall of the maze and tried desperately to hold herself up. Slipping down, she cried out as the branches left deep scratches in her arms and rips in her clothing. The world grew dark and Sarah lay motionless in the middle of the maze, her eyes wide open staring at the sky and seeing nothing.

Author's note: Thank you all so much for your support. White Rose Withering thank you so much for your comments I look forward to your future insights! I want lots of reviews before I post the next chapter. I may not have time to continue writing one chapter every day, but I will try to get one done at least once a week. The song for this chapter is Imaginary by Evanescence. Chapter one was Uninvited by Alanis Morrisette (I don't know how to spell her last name). I hope the errors weren't as many as the last chapter, believe me I checked. Thank you and as always, review, review, review!